An American Road Trip: Floridian Fun in the Sun

The two years that I spent in South Florida as a member of AmeriCorps were full of some of the most memorable moments in my life. The work and the people that I meant during my service are things that will stick with me for the rest of my life. The thing that has continued to amaze me is the quality of friendships that I made while living in one of the richest areas of the United States. A handful of those friendships helped bring me back to the beaches, heat, and palm trees.

When Trisha and I parted ways at the airport in Austin, I headed east to Fort Lauderdale. I was picked up by Ryan, the husband of one of my roommates during my second year, Kourtney. While I was really excited to see Kourtney and Ryan, I will selfishly admit that I was actually more amped about seeing their dogs, Taz and Zoey. These two were a huge part of my service both years and I had missed their energy and sloppy kisses while I was in Colombia. Needless to say, some much-needed puppy therapy was in order during my stay.

Kourtney and Ryan were gracious enough to let me stay at their apartment, which was absolutely beautiful. I had a great few days catching up with them and, of course, soaking in quality time with the pups. But those four weren’t the only reason that I went down to South Florida. I made a stop at the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County to see my former bosses, Brad and Audrey (or Braudrey as they were known during my service). It was great to fill them in on my comings and goings, while also getting an update on the current AmeriCorps group. I wish that I had had more time to spend with them, but other places were calling my name.

For lunch, I went back to my second-year service site, EdVenture, and met up with my former counterpart, Carly. It was a blast not only being able to see her but most of the other staff that I served with during my time at the charter school. I was also able to meet the current AmeriCorps members that are serving at the school and got to share some of my AC and PC experiences with them. After school was done, I accompanied Carly back to her gorgeous house and we did some more catching up.

For dinner that night, I went to the house of one of the families that I used to tutor for. We had a very lively discussion about my time in Colombia and my thoughts on lots of topics (ranging from education to the recent election to cultural differences). Angelina’s mother (the girl that I used to tutor) is from Peru and it was very interesting to compare my experience in Colombia with hers growing up in Peru. The night ended with several pleas for me to move down to South Florida (including an offer to just live in their spare bedroom!)

The rest of my time in South Florida was spent relaxing with my two favorite furry friends, going for walks and runs around the neighborhood, and cooking up a storm to express my gratitude for the hospitality Kourtney and Ryan extended to me. As my time in South Florida came to an end, I was able to spend one last night with Brad, as we went to a brewery down by the airport. He dropped me off and I readied myself for the next leg of my trip: up north to Tampa.

Tampa presented me the opportunity to cross paths with multiple people from different parts of my life. I was picked up at the airport by Cassie, another AmeriCorps survivor from my second year. She and her boyfriend Ryan have a cute little apartment near downtown that offered the perfect accommodations for my stay. Cassie currently is teaching 6^th grade Language Arts at a charter school in the Tampa area and invited me to come and present to her students about my time in Colombia. While a bit rambunctious, the presentations went well and I think the students learned quite a bit about life outside of the United States.

The next path that I was able to cross (on the spur of the moment) was my friend Kevin. Kevin and I first met while participating in Camp Adventure Child and Youth Services in college. The summer that I spent in Italy Kevin was in Germany and we were able to meet up twice that summer (in Rome and in Salzburg, Austria). Since then, he has become an Occupational Therapist and is currently located in a community north of Tampa. It just so happened to be his birthday, so Cassie and I headed up to a brewery to meet up with him and a few friends to help celebrate his big day. We played multiple rounds of Cards Against Humanity and reminisced about the good ole days of Camp A.

The third path that I crossed during this trip was with my friend Donna. Donna and I first met in Korea through the volunteer group Mannam. She was a science teacher on the military base located in Seoul and opened up her home to us multiple times for parties and other get-togethers. She has since moved back to the Tampa area and is currently teaching Language Arts at a local school. We went down to the Riverwalk and had a very enjoyable lunch at a restaurant right on the water. Afterward, I was able to accompany her on a few of her dog-sitting stops. A massive lover of pets, Donna has become involved in animal shelters and pet-sitting for owners while they are on vacation.

My time in Tampa was wrapped up with another visit from Kevin at a brewery that was decorated like a giant aquarium. We played darts, drank some delicious brews, and ended up at a burger joint that was the perfect way to end my brief time in Tampa.

I’m excited for my next trip down south. Not only is it warm and sunny, but some of my favorite humans make it a place that I will always enjoy visiting.

The Journey to Colombia

As the calendar pages flipped from 2015 to 2016, I have found myself doing some reflecting on the past few years. In the last year of my 20's, I have been asked by many people the question of how I ended up in Colombia, along with why I am still single and show no signs of settling down anytime soon. To really answer that question, we need to start a few years back - 29 to be exact...

Ever since I can remember, I have been a traveler. My first flight happened when I was no more than 3 or 4 months old, as my parents and I would make trips back and forth from Washington D.C. (where I was born) to Iowa and Illinois (where my parent's families are located). This constant moving about to new places and cities just became part of life. 

When I was 5, my family moved to a small town in southeastern Iowa to be closer to family. This move, from the large, bustling city to a confined farming town was a huge factor in why I currently find myself sitting at a café in Colombia recounting my journey. Growing up, I was never satisfied with the limits that living in a rural community presented me. The want and desire to explore everything around me began building up inside of me.

Finally, as a 16-year-old, my first opportunity to truly step outside of my comfort zone presented itself. I spent six weeks during the summer living in San Jose, Costa Rica. The efforts of the local Lions Club helped make this adventure possible. This was my first true taste of what existed beyond the borders of Iowa and the United States. Remember, I had a very limited Spanish ability and had no real idea of what I was getting myself into. However, I just remember the rush of stepping off the plane in a foreign land and just having to figure out how to survive and persevere.

My trip to San José quickly turned into a two-week stay in the town of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, where I took intensive Spanish courses at a local school. This was my first experience traveling with a somewhat organized group and it stuck. Being able to meet and interact with other people from the USA helped open my eyes to how others within my own country lived and thrived. It also shed some light on the fact that Iowa is somewhat of an anomaly to Americans. Quickly, I was charged with not only representing my country, but also my state. Needless to say, this challenge has been accepted.

As my high school days came to a close and I started college, I gradually discovered that opportunities to continue traveling surrounded me at every turn. It was during college that my current desire to visit every continent was instilled. Through the help of Camp Adventure Child and Youth Services, a program headquartered at the University of Northern Iowa that equips college students all over the country with the skills and opportunity to be summer camp counselors on American military bases all over the world, I was able to start checking things off my bucket list.

The time that I spent in Japan, Germany, Italy, and Hawaii really helped shape who I am today. Seeing the beauty that each of these separate locations (as well as those nearby) just reaffirmed the fact that there is so much to see and do. The memories of visiting the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, hiking to the top of Mt. Fuji in Japan, and seeing the ruins of Rome, Italy, among other amazing experiences, continue to fuel my desire to never be tied down to one place for an extended period of time. 

Also during my college years, I was fortunate enough to be able to study abroad in the quaint, yet lively city of Oviedo, Spain. This semester truly opened my eyes to the hundreds of options that were available to me in terms of future plans. I was able to not only experience a different education system for the first time, I was also able to successfully live and thrive in a new culture and language that was not my native one. Looking back on my journey, it was truly this semester in Spain that really sparked my desire to teach outside of the United States. 

Following my graduation from college, I decided to take the plunge and try my hand at teaching outside of the US. I embarked on the long 13-hour flight to Seoul, South Korea not at all sure what I would find or how this next adventure would end up. The next year was marked with a renewed appreciation for the American education system, friendships that literally spanned the globe, and an even greater understanding of where my true calling was.

So, after a two-year stint in southern Florida with an amazing AmeriCorps program (which also just further justified my new found desire to both teach and be outside of the Untied States), I applied for the Peace Corps and was accepted as a Teaching English for Livlihoods (TEL) volunteer in Colombia, South America. I am currently living in a small, rural town in the northern department of Atlanticó. While these past 17 months have been anything but easy, they have taught me so much about not only myself but what it really means to be apart of a community of humans that do generally care.

Being able to finally live out one of my biggest dreams and goals in life has been nothing short of amazing. I've given up serious relationships, financial stability, and special moments in the lives of friends and families to not only be in Colombia, but to be true to myself and travel the world. So, I'm looking forward to the new highs and lows that 2016 brings me. Hopefully the close of this magnificent ride in Colombia will just lead to more amazing and exciting opportunities.

Travel Timeline

With my host family in Guatemala (2005)

Capsule hotel in Tokyo, Japan (2007)

Parque Guell - Barcelona, Spain (2008)

Reichstag - Berlin, Germany (2008)

Cinque Terra, Italy (2009)

Diamond Head - Honolulu, Hawaii (2009)

John Lennon Wall - Prague, Czech Republic (2010)

Baseball Game - Seoul, South Korea (2011)

Jungle Experience - Bangkok, Thailand (2012)

Top of Taipei 101 - Taipei, Taiwan (2012)

South Beach - Miami, Florida (2014)

La Piedra - Guatape, Colombia (2015)

Hidden Treasures

Counselor shot!

One of the best things that I've ever done in my 26 years of life was participating in Camp Adventure Child and Youth Services. The ability to not only travel the world, but also work with some amazing children has definitely effected the way that I live my life today. Any chance that I get to return to that camp setting is always welcomed. This past weekend, I had that very opportunity.

Camp Treasure is an experience that is supported by the American Association for Caregiving Youth (AACY), a non-profit organization that caters towards youth that serve as the main caregiver for an ailing relative (parent, grandparent, cousin, niece, etc.). Camp Treasure gives these kids, normally between the ages of 12 and 14, an opportunity to be kids for a weekend and not worry about the responsibilities that they have at home. I participated in this weekend camp back in November as well and was really looking forward to getting to the camp setting.

Learning the cup game

During the course of the two days, we played lots of carpetball (this awesome game that involves a long wooden box lined with carpet and pool balls), completed some team building exercises, did some yoga, went swimming, made treasure boxes, and just enjoyed each other's company. The dynamic of the group from the onset was a bit different from the first group of campers that came through in November, but by the end of the camp, everyone was getting along great and the beginnings of new friendships were being formed.

I could not imagine taking care of a parent or grandparent when I was 13 full time. These kids are amazing and I definitely admire the jobs that they do and the lives that they lead. It's never easy to see a loved one suffer - it's even harder to have that responsibility of caring for them at such a young age. Through this amazing organization and opportunities like Camp Treasure, these kids can finally be kids!

Oh Hala...

Max playing some carpetball

Group Shot!

Cabin Shot!

TurtleFest 2013

Loggerhead Marina is a rehabilitation center that helps sea turtles that have been injured by various elements (natural, human, boats, etc.) recover in a safe, controlled environment before being released back out into the wild. This marina also does a lot of work to raise awareness about sea turtles in general, which was the main premise of their event this past weekend, TurtleFest.

This festival was an all day event that included bounce houses, games, live entertainment, food, activities and crafts for the kids, and a chance for local vendors to display their artwork and other crafts to the community. It was attended by around 10,000 people! As AmeriCorps members, the majority of our members were placed in the Global Village tent, where we assisted with various arts and crafts, including mosaic turtles, shell necklaces, tissue flowers, decorating cloth bags (definitely the biggest hit of the day!), creating a turtle mural, and others.

Despite a brief rain shower in the middle of the day, the event was an amazing success! It was an absolute pleasure to help out Loggerhead after we were able to have one of our Friday meetings there a couple of months ago. Can't wait to help out with this event again next year!

Retreating to the Keys

Being apart of a program that lasts a full year can be trying. You hit emotional highs and lows as things change and progress around you. The first few weeks are filled with new experiences and opportunities. By the time that you reach the middle months, you have been doing the same thing for a while and boredom and frustration can start to set in. Then as the end nears, you gear up for the next adventure life brings/creating as many memories as you can with those around you.

To help offset the feelings of monotony that creep up around the middle of our year, a staff retreat to Key Largo was just the remedy needed for the 40 members to help rejuvenate and re-energize ourselves as we hit the home stretch. Our supervisors, Brad and Audrey, rented out a small resort right by the water, complete with a couple of docks, kayaks, and beautiful sunsets. 

The highlight of the trip was definitely the 4 1/2 hour kayak trip that we were treated to. We adventured out to a small island that was ransacked by Seminoles back in 1840, paddled through the open water under the blazing sun, ate in the middle of mangrove trees, and trekked through a waterway reminiscent of something you would see on the Amazon River. By the end we were all a little bit tanner (or redder), a tad wet and sore, but overall, in great spirits!

Another highlight of the trip was following the kayak trip when we were able to put our supervisors on the hot seat! Anything and everything was fair game and to their credit, they were great sports and answered our questions openly and honestly. It was an amazing trip that allowed us as a group to continue to gel and work as a cohesive unit. 

This was a perfect way to wrap up my first spring break here in Florida!

Excited for our time in the Keys!

Beautiful sunsets!

Ready to hit the open water!

Thanks for the photo bomb Phetsada!

Lunch time!

Cathy and I in the mangroves